Author's note: Horray, the server works again. : ) Was about time. Again "(…)" means that a foreign language is spoken!
I finished this one here yesterday (Nov 26), but the upload didn't work. I tried it several times. Well, at least this one here is now the Corrected Version (Nov 27th). Wow, finally the upload works... (Nov 28). Sorry for that!!!
Changes Sequel – I. Darkness Part 16
"Submit!"
Hearing this from him, Jean's heart raced even more. She knew instantly what he would do with her. Turning her head a bit she directly looked into his pitch-black eyes. There wasn't any emotion visible in them. Only coldness, maybe hate. Instinctively, she began to concentrate on him to defend herself if necessary. She felt how he tightened the grip on her back and heard him growling deeply again. "Logan…," Jean tried barely audible and didn't dare to move.
"Ain't Logan," he growled as a reply and narrowed his eyes. "Submit!" To make his demand clearer, he pushed her further down.
Letting out a short hiss, she bit her lip. She'd made the animal furious and if she knew one thing than that the Wolverine didn't share his girl. She knew the animal didn't understand that it wasn't completely her fault. To him she'd been unfaithful and another male, in fact two others, had touched and marked her and she wasn't his anymore. Possessive as he was, the animal wanted to mark her again. He wanted it his way and it wouldn't matter if she refused to obey. He'd get it his way by all means…
Jean was aware of the fact that she could easily send him through the whole village with one blink of her eyes. But she also knew the consequences of doing it. Hearing another impatient growl of him, she swallowed hard, unsure of what to do.
Wolverine in the meanwhile was getting more and more impatient. He was more than angry by now. He didn't and couldn't understand what took his female so long. He'd stated what he wanted and she'd to obey to him. Growling when he recalled that some other male had touched his mate, he felt another fit of rage coming up. Jean only shrieked when she was suddenly pushed down completely by him and one hand grabbed the rest of her kimono roughly. "No, stop!" she said and held him back with her powers, which made Wolverine even more furious. Completely pissed by now, he bared his teeth and growled louder. He didn't care about his human part telling him to stop and fighting for dominance and control. Right now he was in charge and he would get it his way. Staring into her widened eyes, the scent of fear filled his nose, but also nervousness; still he couldn't care less. Even the fact that she used her powers against him, maddened him.
Jean noticed this of course. Looking into his eyes, she felt her heart beating in every part of her body. She wanted to make peace with him, but she was also terribly afraid of him forcing her. Wolverine's way of thinking and acting was a lot different from Logan's. And last one wouldn't force or hurt her. But Wolverine would, she knew that. Completely aware of his growl, which became steadily louder, Jean swallowed once more. "You can do whatever you want with me, but please," she said in a whisper and shook her head for emphasis. "…don't hurt me…" She exposed her neck to him in complete devotion and let slowly go of the Wolverine; releasing him of her powers. Immediately, he grabbed her roughly and pulled her up against his body so that she was kneeling on the ground; one hand entwined in her hair and pulling her head to the left side, so that her neck was stretched.
Heavily panting, she closed her eyes. "I said don't hurt me…, please." Still feeling his hands firmly on her wrists and neck, Jean expected the worst when Wolverine suddenly began to lick on her exposed neck. Surprised, she opened her eyes and felt his warm breath on her right cheek. Her nervousness and fear began to wear off and she started to enjoy it a bit, when he suddenly pushed her down again; bending over her while he held her pressed against his body. Letting out a surprised gasp, Jean's body tensed briefly and she closed her eyes again. Irritated by the disturbing clothing, Wolverine growled slightly and quickly got rid of it, before he pulled her close again; feeling another wave of nervousness and fear rushing over her. Not caring about it, he grabbed her hip and matched it to his own. He wanted to mate with her and mark her as his own again, while his human part kept on annoying him by telling him to stop. But he just didn't give a damn about that part in him right now. He wanted it, so he would get it.
Snorting, Wolverine bent over her again and growled in anger when Jean moved away panicky. Tightening the grip on her while she whimpered, he licked on her neck again and waited for her to relax once more. As soon as this was the case, Wolverine bit into her shoulder hard, causing a silent scream to leave her mouth in surprise, before he pushed into her at the same time…
In South America, Scott still stared at the ceiling of the tent. He tried for hours now to sleep, but couldn't manage to find some. His thoughts kept on drifting off to different things, of which he knew that he was thinking and caring about them too hard. Hearing a movement next to him, he looked briefly aside when suddenly a hand touched his left arm. "Can't sleep?" Mystique asked him and switched the lamp on.
"No," he replied. "You neither?"
"No. I always have trouble sleeping in tents," she said and sat up a bit. "What time is it?"
Looking up a bit he gave his watch a brief look. "Just 9:30…," he replied. "Only 30 minutes have past and I thought it would be at least three hours or so…" Groaning, he ran a hand through his face.
"Maybe Hank is awake, too. We could go on looking for that seal," she suggested and got up just to get out of the tent in the next minute. Smiling, she watched how the zipper of the tent next to them was opened and a blue mutant looked out of it in the next second.
"As I thought," Hank said and smiled before he got out of the tent in the next moment. "So,…I heard something about going on to look. Count me in!"
"Good!" Scott said and handed Mystique a flashlight. "Japan and Australia are 12 hours ahead of us. They are probably just getting up or are already looking for those damn seals again." He closed the zipper from his tent and joined his comrades again. "Then let's go!"
For hours now they kept on walking through the Australian outback without any results. After they'd gotten up early, the group had briefly eaten something and packed their stuff afterwards. Walking on the front, Kitty kept on grinning at Peter, who also had to smirk while she gave Bobby and Jubilee an amused look from time to time. She heard a stressed groan from the young man and giggled.
"What's so funny, eh?" Bobby asked them and pulled his backpack up a bit.
"Nothing," Kitty purred. "It was just too cute how the two of you had cuddled at night…"
"What?" Jubilee shrieked and stared at her with widened eyes. "That's not true!" But Kitty nodded grinning.
"It is, right, honey?" As an answer Peter nodded, too.
Snorting, Bobby shook his head. "And if, what's it to you, eh?"
"Woah!" Kitty made. "Someone spent too much time with Logan, huh?"
"You're mean!" Jubilee protested and walked ahead with a slight blush on her face. "We haven't cud…ah!"
"Jubes!" Bobby shouted when he only saw how she suddenly fell and disappeared. Running to the hole in the ground as fast as they could, he bent forward kneeling and tried to see anything. "Jubes?" Listening, he couldn't hear any reply.
"Oh God…," Kitty panted and began to shiver in shock, while also Peter was trying to see anything.
Getting up, Bobby quickly got rid off his backpack. "Step aside!"
"What do you want to do?" Peter asked him and stepped a bit aside.
"I'm going down!"
"What? How?" Kitty shrieked when she saw how he turned into his ice form. "But Bobby…"
"I'll be fine, don't worry!" he only said and jumped into the hole. As soon as he had enough room to move, an icebeam shot out of his hands and he glided down on that beam until he reached the ground. Quickly changing to his normal form, he kneeled down next to his teammate who laid lifelessly on the ground. Panting he looked briefly up, saw how far she'd fallen down, before he touched her cheek gently. "Jubes?" Bobby asked frightened and checked her pulse; being relieved to feel it pulsating against his fingers. "Jubes?" With a shaking hand he touched her cheek softly when he suddenly heard how his headset cracked.
"Is she alive?" Peter asked him worriedly.
"Yes, but she'd unconscious," he replied and checked his surroundings frowning. He obviously had landed in a cave with some strange objects in it. "I think I've found what we're looking for…"
"What do you mean?" Kitty asked. "What's down there?"
Holding his friend's hand, Bobby narrowed his eyes a bit to have a better look in the dim light. "I don't know, but here are enough objects…" Hearing a weak groan, Bobby quickly turned his attention to the girl on the ground. "Jubes?" he asked softly and stroked her cheek when she slowly opened her eyes. "Hey…" Watching how she grimaced in pain, he immediately became worried. "Are you hurt?" Sitting up, he bent over her a bit and touched the back of her head carefully; relieved that there was no blood. "Can you move?" When she reached out her arms, he pulled her up slowly.
"Ah!" Jubilee hissed and grimaced in pain while she bit her lip hard.
"Where does it hurt?" Bobby asked her worriedly.
"My right leg…" she sobbed and clung to him tightly. "It hurts so much…"
"Bobby, what's going on there?" Peter asked through the headset while Kitty looked down.
"I think she's broken her leg," he replied. "Can you send a message to Dr Grey? Ask her what we can do about it!"
"Okay," Peter said and he heard another crack before the line went dead.
"Don't move, okay?" Bobby told her softly and laid her slowly down before he got up.
"No!" Jubilee shrieked. "Don't leave me alone here…"
"I'm not leaving," he assured her. "I only wanted to look for the seal. I'm here, okay? Just don't move!" Waiting for her to nod, he squeezed her hand reassuringly and smiled, before he walked over to the objects. He remembered Mystique saying something about the Mayan culture, but still, he had no idea what he was looking for.
"What is that stuff?" Jubilee asked him and tried to turn her head a bit, but stopped the attempt when it hurt too much.
Bobby shrugged when his eyes scanned over everything that laid on the muddy, wet ground. "Different stuff," he said and kneeled down briefly. "Slabs, medals, sculptures…coins…" He took some objects into his hands and examined them closely. "If we knew what exactly we're looking for…" Sighing, he kept on working through the stuff in front of him.
"I think it's a sculpture…," she said barely audible.
"Why?"
"Dunno… In the end it's always sculptures…" Trying to move, she let out a painful hiss and held her ribs on the right side. "In Wolvie terms…fuck!" she cried and breathed hard to ease the pain.
"Is it very bad?" Bobby asked and gave her a sympathetic look.
"Well, I won't give ya an I had worse like Wolvie always does," she cried. "Found anything?"
He was about to shake his head when something in the mud caught his eyes. Frowning, Bobby began to dig in the wet ground until he held a weird looking figure in his hands which pointed to the left with one hand. "Yeah, I think I did…," he said more to himself when his headset cracked.
"Bobby?" Peter's voice sounded in his right ear. "Do you copy?"
"Yeah, I can hear you," Bobby answered and walked over to Jubilee with the sculpture in his hand. "I think I found the seal."
"You did?" Kitty asked surprised and gave Peter a look. "What does it look like?"
"Well, I'm not sure but," he replied and eyed the sculpture from all sides. "…it's just a feeling…"
"You need to get Jubes up," Peter said. "Dr Grey said we need to splint her leg and take care of the other injuries quickly!"
"Okay!" Looking at the young woman on the ground, Bobby handed her the sculpture. "Hold this, will ya?" he asked and she nodded. "I've got to get us out of here, okay? I need to move you for this, Jubes." Panting, she nodded again. Carefully, he pulled her up; hearing her painful cries and hisses which sent shivers down his spine. If he couldn't stand something than it was his friends getting hurt or seeing them suffer. "I'm sorry," he apologized while she bit her lip hard and cried. "You need to hold onto my back. I need my hands for this."
"Okay," Jubilee sobbed and grimaced in pain when she moved onto his back; holding on tightly when he lifted them up by creating a stair-like ascent.
As soon as they reached the outside again, Kitty and Peter helped him to lay the sobbing young woman down. "God, girl," Kitty cried. "What are you doing?"
In the meanwhile, her husband had taken a first aid kit out of his bag and began to treat Jubilee's wounds. When he touched her leg, the girl cried out and clung to Bobby sobbing, who held her tight. "Sorry," Peter apologized. "But we need to fix this now…"
"Then hurry up!" Jubilee sobbed and felt how Bobby wrapped his arms around her carefully whereupon she covered them with her hands.
"Ororo said that she and Kurt are going to pick up Rogue and Remy," Kitty told her to distract her a bit. "Since Logan hasn't found anything, yet, they'll get Hank and the others first. Then they'll head to us…" Looking at her friend worriedly, she saw how she nodded under several hisses, before she gave the sculpture a look.
"Move, move!" Scott shouted and ran ahead, while the ground shook heavily. He hoped that Hank wasn't foolish enough to enter the cave while everything inside was going to hell. He had grabbed Mystique's hand firmly, while she held a sculpture that pointed with the left arm to the right tight. Turning his head, he saw how the ground behind him began to collapse and more and more pieces dropped into the abyss underneath them. "Hurry!" he barked and saw how also Mystique turned her head quickly, when she suddenly stumbled and fell. Stopping, he grabbed her arm as fast as he could and began to run again. "We're almost there!"
Looking to the front, she saw the exit and how Hank had trouble to keep the door open for them. Her heart was pounding strongly in her chest when she heard more and more parts falling into the abyss behind her. She saw how Scott had already reached solid ground, when her foot stepped into emptiness. "Scott!" she shrieked and lost halt, while she saw him turning around.
"No!" he shouted and nearly fell to his knees, while his right hand shot forward and grabbed her hand quickly to pull her towards him. Through the impact of his action, he fell backwards and hit the ground with her on the top. Panting, he held her close and shivered due to the shock. "Are you alright?" he asked her softly and cupped her face.
"Yeah," she replied heavily breathing and gave the spot where the bridge had been a look. "That was a close call…"
"Guys, you can go on flirting later," Hank shouted and grimaced since the doors tried to close. "I can't do this here forever!" Helping Mystique up, Scott quickly ran towards the exit. As soon as the three of them were on the outside, the doors closed with a loud bang and left them looking at it completely exhausted. "That was close…"
"But we got it!" Mystique said and held the sculpture up.
"You're really okay?" Scott asked her and she nodded. "Good. Then let's go back to the tents. I've enough of that place here."
"When did Ororo say she will arrive here?" Hank asked when they walked back. "I wonder if it was as hard for them as it was for us…"
"You know who to send your complaints to," Scott replied and pushed leaves out of the way. "I only hope the whole thing is worth it…"
As soon as the first sunbeams fell into the room, Logan opened his eyes slowly and immediately had to frown. Feeling someone laying on his right arm and chest, he cocked an eyebrow and turned his head to that side. He looked at Jean, who had cuddled up to him closely, just to get more confused. Carefully, Logan raised his head and saw his and her kimono laying on the ground, while his nose caught a scent which told him unmistakably what had happened in this room before. Still, the last thing he remembered was him coming into the room and grabbing the blanket to tuck Jean in. Now he knew how men felt after a night with too much alcohol…
Even if his nose told him volumes, Logan grabbed the blanket and pulled it up; seeing that both of them were naked. Groaning, he ran his free hand through his face and let him fall backwards again, just to feel an incredible anger rising within him. The whole situation was exactly what he'd intended to prevent and now it had happened and he hadn't had any influence in it. If he hated one thing than it was being used and that was exactly how he felt now. And he blamed her for it. If she had listened to his order and not disobeyed him, the whole situation wouldn't have happened. Noticing that she began to move a bit and uttered a deep sigh, his jaw tensed automatically. He would bet that she'd hoped he would fall for her trick and obviously he had. But she'd forgotten that he hated to be fooled and used. Especially if he couldn't remember afterwards what he'd done. And she knew perfectly well how he reacted to her…
Glaring at her when Jean finally opened her eyes, Logan's jaw tensed dangerously again. "Had fun?" he asked in a very low voice and through clenched teeth.
Confused, she wanted to sit up a bit but hissed when she felt a painful sting on the spot between her right neck and shoulder. Grimacing briefly, Jean met his gaze. "What do you mean?"
"Your plan worked, eh?"
Finally managing to sit up, when he instantly pulled his arm away and did the same, she raised one eyebrow. "Which plan?"
Getting dressed, Logan never took his eyes from her. "If you think that everything's fine again just because you and him had sex, forget it!" he said angrily and watched her shaking her head in denial. "And don't give me that face now!"
"But I never wanted Wolverine to show up!" she replied despaired and with a pleading look. "I told you to do whatever you want with me…"
"Doesn't change the fact, does it?" he gave back when he was finished with getting dressed. Moving so that she was on her knees now, Jean frowned in confusion. "Which fact?" Looking at him, she tried to read in his eyes or face what was wrong with him, but the only thing she could tell was that he was more than pissed off.
"The fact that you used me and behaved like a whore!" he shot back growling.
"What?" Jean asked aloud and completely shocked. "A whore?"
"What else would you call it if someone pulls down his clothes and practically says take me? Did you do the same with dickhead?"
Not thinking about it, she gave him a strong slap around the face. "What do you want me to do, Logan? How many more times do you want me to beg you to forgive me?" she cried and had to swallow hard because of a thick lump in her throat. "You don't give me the chance to tell you what this imposter did to me. All you care about is that I slept with Scott. Yeah, I did, because I was drunk and I couldn't even remember it on the next morning," she sobbed; feeling despaired and angry at the same time, but also offended.
"Oh, is your beloved Boyscout such a disappointment?" he spat back and got up.
"Why are you doing this?" Jean asked him calmly while tears ran down her face. "If you can't forgive me why don't you just say it's over and that's it? Do you enjoy doing this to me?"
"I told you to stay at home, you didn't listen so deal with it!" was all he hissed before he left her alone.
Running a hand through her hair and shaking her head in despair, Jean pulled the blanket closer to cover her body with it. If he'd intended to hurt her with his words, he had succeeded. He'd directly stabbed right through her heart and by now she didn't know what else she could probably do. Maybe it was already too late and she made things only worse by trying too hard. Sighing, she looked at the computer which was blinking and finally took it into her hands.
"Hey, there they are," Kitty said and pointed at the X-Wing which announced itself by roaring aloud high in the air. Waving her arms, she watched how the jet landed close by and how the hatch opened. It didn't take long and Hank and Scott ran towards them. "Thank God you guys are finally here."
"Where is she?" Hank asked and saw how she pointed towards a tent.
"We pitched it up to protect her against the sun. She's more injuries, I think."
Nodding, Hank went over to the tent to check on the girl, while Scott nodded towards the jet.
"Get everything together. We head to Japan next," he said and Kitty nodded. Watching how Kurt appeared next to him to get Jubilee into the jet, he heard a familiar bamf before Hank helped Bobby to pack all things together.
"God, what happened to you?" Jubilee asked Ororo after Kurt had put her down in a corner.
"We were attacked," the weather goddess replied and still cooled her bruised cheek. "But it's okay. Don't worry about us." She looked up when Hank entered to take care of her, while Kurt limped his way to a seat. He, too, was injured and there was still blood visible on his clothes. She couldn't believe how close they'd been to get killed by those people. Of course they only wanted money, but as soon as they'd seen Kurt, they'd become angry. Thank God, Black Panther had come to her and his rescue and they'd managed to get out of there alive. Watching how Hank treated the wounds and hearing Jubilee's whimpers, she gave Rogue and Remy a worried look, too. Sleeping in her seat, Rogue had her eyes closed, while Remy still held his side, which had finally stopped bleeding.
"Remy is fine, Stormy," he said as if he had read her thoughts.
"You still haven't told me what had happened."
"Well, after you had sent a picture of dat sculpture, Marie remembered dat she had seen it in dat window," he told her with half closed eyes. "Remy saw a shadow and a man disappeared. Da sculpture was gone, so Remy and Marie went after him. He surprised us with an attack."
Nodding, Ororo looked briefly to the hatch and saw that also the others had arrived by now.
"We can take off," Scott told her and took the seat right next to her. "Everyone's here."
"What did the man look like?" Ororo asked Remy before he dozed off to sleep.
"Ugly… Lots of fur," he replied sleepily and drifted off into oblivion.
"Fur?" she said aloud and frowned. Thinking about it briefly, she heard how Scott started the jet's engines. "Any news from Jean or Logan so far?"
"No, last thing I heard was that he didn't find anything," Hank replied after he'd given Jubilee some painkillers. "Do you think we find a place to land? By now the village and woods must be covered with snow…"
"I told Jean that we get them from the spot where we'd landed before," Ororo replied and lifted the jet into the air.
"Shouldn't we better ask how she is?" Scott said dryly. "I doubt they had a happy time there. Or better…she hadn't…" Giving him a look, Ororo concentrated on the flight and typed in the coordinates…
His eyes scanned the whole dim room for minutes now while his heart beat strongly in his chest. Something about that house made him feel bad or nervous. But he couldn't tell what. Slowly, Logan closed the door behind him and stepped carefully forward; his senses were alarmed even if he was the only one in that room. He looked at the painted pictures at the walls, which were covered with thick dust. So was the ground, but also the rest of the house. Knowing that he had built it, he still couldn't remember it completely. He had worked on it all day and night until it had been finished, that he could remember. But some memories were still blurry and obviously he tried too hard to regain them again. Walking through the rooms, he saw some swords and sculptures standing on shelves and small tables. Lost in thoughts, Logan touched some objects as if he hoped to get to know more about it. He still couldn't believe that he had married a woman here. That she had carried his child and probably would have given birth to it if some things had been different… If she hadn't been murdered…
Narrowing his eyes, he became angry at the thought of it. He knew she had been killed because of him. And he wouldn't rest until he'd found the one responsible for it. Thinking about the time back then, he became aware of the fact that if the murder hadn't happened, he would have stayed in that village for sure. At least if he hadn't lost his honor back then. Kneeling down when he saw a silver object on the ground, he took it into his hands and rubbed the dust off it. But he also knew that his children wouldn't exist now if the things hadn't happened years ago. His hazel eyes stared at the necklace and he tried hard to recall what it meant. It was familiar but he couldn't remember it completely. All he knew was that he had gotten it in China on his many travels before he had arrived here. Putting it into his pocket, he got up again and looked at a weird looking sculpture. Cocking an eyebrow at it, Logan took it into his hands and eyed it closely from all sides. It wasn't Japanese, that was for sure. Not even Asian in his eyes. The arms of the sculpture were crossed on its chest, while a part of a text was engraved on the back of it. He narrowed his eyes and tried to read anything of it, but it was useless. Time had done its job and made it impossible to make any sense of the stuff. Still, his feelings told him that it probably was what they were looking for. But why was the sculpture here in his house?
On the outside, Jean had made her way through the thick snow until she'd reached a spot where Logan was at least once a day. She had often watched him traveling the path up to a small hill and often he spent many minutes if not even hours there. Finding the spot, where he used to brood, she looked down on a small gravestone frowning; reading Itsu and child on it.
"His wife and child," a familiar voice said in broken English behind her. Still frowning, Jean turned around and saw that Ken Kawashima came closer smiling. "Logan-san didn't know about it anymore. But Itsu was the woman he took as his wife in his fourth year of training here."
"What happened?" the redhead asked, feeling how her heart began to hammer in her chest because of the news.
"She was murdered when she was pregnant with his child. We don't know by whom, but Logan-san disappeared that night, too." He watched how Jean stared at the gravestone again, obviously having problems to understand what she'd been told. "I heard that you were quiet confused about some other woman bowing to you."
"Yes…," she nodded since it was true. Each time she made her way to the hot springs to take a bath, some woman bowed to her.
Making an inviting gesture Kawashima smiled at her. "Let's walk a bit, shall we? I'll explain it to you as long as my English is good enough…"
"It is," Jean nodded and followed him down the path again, before she gave the stone one last look.
"You have to know that Logan-san was trained as a samurai for many years in Japan. First by Ogun-sensei, then by Suboro-sensei. Samurai are still highly respected in our and some neighboring villages. They are, as you might call it…better as normal people. And even if you are a foreigner to our village, you are still his wife and therefore, the wife of a samurai. By bowing to you, they show you their respect." Jean nodded in understanding and saw how a woman bowed to her from afar. Ken smiled by seeing the slight blush on his friend's wife's cheek. "I'll show you around and explain our tradition and culture to you, if you'd give me the honor to do so."
"Thank you," the redhead nodded smiling and followed him slowly through the snow.
Hours later after they had eaten and received a message that the others would get them, Logan and Jean packed their things together and thanked Mrs. Kawashima for everything, while Ken Kawashima got his men together to escort them back to the spot where they'd picked them up.
Riding through the snow for some hours, they finally saw the X-Wing from afar. Reaching it, Jean got off the horse and saw how her friends, who had just finished eating a meal, gave them surprised looks. Bowing to Ken and thanking him again for everything, she made her way towards the jet and stopped next to Scott, who laid a hand on her shoulder. "You alright?" he asked her concerned and she nodded. "Who are those people?"
"Friends of Logan. He lived in that village for some years as I've been told," she replied and watched how Logan also thanked Kawashima again after both men had talked for quiet a while. Watching how he turned towards the jet and came closer, she looked to the ground and entered the jet; not caring about the strange looks the others gave her. Inside, she saw Jubilee laying in a corner and sleeping, while Bobby sat on the ground next to her and held her hand. "How is she?"
Shaking his head, he only shrugged. "She broke her leg and obviously hit some ribs, too. Hank already gave her something against the pain, but it still hurts like hell."
Jean nodded and quickly scanned over the young woman's wounds. "I'll screen her as soon as we're back home. Did you find what you were looking for?"
"Yes, everyone found a sculpture. You should screen Ororo, Kurt and Remy, too."
"Yeah, I've already noticed it," the redhead replied and took a seat after she'd put her bag into the locker.
"Found what you were looking for, Logan?" Scott asked the team leader when he approached, but only earned a snort from him. "I'll take that as a yes… Thanks by the way for sending me into the jungle!"
"Too bad that you didn't stay there," his opposite grunted through clenched teeth and glared at him, when he suddenly heard Ken speaking up.
"(Logan-san?)"
Turning around, while his teammates only gave each other questioning looks since they didn't understand one word, he looked at Kawashima attentively. "(Yes?)"
"(Think about what I said, my friend)," Ken said and Logan nodded.
"(I will)," he replied and bowed to him. "Arigato!"
"What?" Kitty said and cocked an eyebrow at her friends, but they only shrugged and watched how the man on the black horse and the others nodded to them politely before they turned around and disappeared into the woods.
"What did you just say?" Scott asked him frowning and slowly followed him and the other X-Men into the jet.
"Nothin' of ya concern, bub!" Logan grunted and put his bag into the locker before he took his seat at the front.
"Thanks for the answer!" Scott hissed and sat down, too when the hatch was closed by Ororo.
"Everyone ready to head back home?" the weather goddess asked and gave Jean, who only stared out of the window a worried look. "Jean?" she tried it mentally and felt her friend reaching out to her.
"What?"
"We talk later, okay?"
"Yeah…"
Turning around again, Ororo started the engines and it didn't take long until the X-Wing was in the air again…
Back at home, Jean and Hank took care of the injured X-Men in the infirmary while Logan did the debriefing. He heard the reports of every team leader and looked at Charles from time to time, who was deeply in thoughts. Knowing that the sculptures could give Apocalypse his full powers again, they decided it would be the best to destroy them, since the text on each back of the wooden figures, couldn't be read anymore. Charles took care of them and brought them to Jean, who used her Phoenix powers to atomize them quickly. Afterwards, Ororo had taken her hand and dragged her to the kitchen, while Logan went to his rooms; remembering that he wanted to talk with his children about their mutation. Since Rachel was already asleep, he turned to the twins' room and as soon as he'd opened the door, both children threw themselves at him. Embracing them closely, he felt once more the luck to have them and sat down on the bed with both kids on his lap. Looking at them, he kissed them softly, while the twins held onto him tightly.
"You said a week," Jack said and looked at him closely.
"Well we were faster," his father replied and smiled slightly. "So, did you behave?"
"Sure," Lily nodded and gave him a lopsided grin.
"Okay, what did you do?" he asked knowingly and cocked an eyebrow at them.
Jack shrugged and gave him his best smile. "We accidentally smashed Grandpa's vase to pieces…" Hearing his father's groan, he went into puppy-dog-eyes-mode. "It really was an accident!"
"Yeah, I bet you guys were running around at full speed again, right?" Logan asked and saw them nodding quickly. "Only a vase?" Again they nodded. "I told ya to be careful. You can hurt yourself or others by doing it and I also said that you can run around in the garden as fast and as much as you want, but not on the inside!"
"But it was raining," Lily pouted. "And if this stupid Keith hadn't stood in the way, it wouldn't have happened!"
"It wouldn't have happened if you guys had listen to what I'm telling you every second day," Logan gave back and gave her a look.
"Yeah," both kids replied calmly and looked down. "Sorry…"
Shaking his head, he leant back a bit. "So, did you talk with Grandpa?" he asked Jack and the boy nodded. "What did he say?"
"That it's nothing bad and as long as nothing bad happens, we shouldn't worry about it too much," the boy replied.
"You don't hear voices in your head, do you?" Logan asked them concerned.
"No," Lily replied. "Why?"
"Just wanted to make sure that you guys don't have mommy's powers already, too." Sighing, he looked were to begin. "So, both of you hear, see and smell better, right?" He looked to and fro between his twins and saw them nodding. "What happens if you get angry? I mean really angry?"
"Don't know," Lily said and shrugged. "I never get angry."
"And scared?" Logan tried again, but again she shook her head.
"Why are you asking?"
"Look," he began and searched for the right words. "You know that mommy and I change if we get very angry, right? We explained Phoenix and Wolverine to ya, remember?" Both kids nodded while they looked at him attentively. "From what you tell me, it's likely that you inherited Wolverine's personality, too. It explains why Jack got so angry that he wanted to destroy things."
"Then it is bad?" Jack asked him worriedly, but saw how his father shook his head.
"Not as long as you can control it," Logan replied and looked briefly down when he remembered that he lacked this control a lot lately. "If you can't control him, then it's dangerous. Very dangerous…"
"But how do we know it? And how do we control it?" Lily demanded to know, sounding slightly scared of what she'd heard so far.
"We don't know for sure, kid. But smelling, hearing and seeing better indicates that you are more like me. And don't worry about the control. If it's time, I teach ya how t'do it, okay?" Looking at both kids again, he pulled them close. "What about healing? Do you heal faster than usual, too?" he asked them after a while.
"I cut my arm open after we shattered the vase," Jack said and looked at the spot. "But it's gone…" He saw how his father looked at the arm closely. "Is that bad, too?"
"No, a healing factor is the most perfect thing for two Road Runners like you," he smirked and began to tickle them.
"That's unfair!" Jack protested laughing and tried to get free. "You gonna pay, daddy!"
"I wann see ya tryin' it, son!" Logan growled playfully and loosened his grip a bit, just to see both kids jumping at him cheerfully. Fighting with them for some time, he laid on his back on Lily's bed while the twins cuddled with him afterwards.
"Do you stay now?" Lily asked him after a while and had her eyes closed.
Noticing how sleepily she already sounded, he began to move and took Jack into his arm, before he tucked her into the blanket. Doing the same with his son, he gave both of them a kiss. "Dunno, pumkin," he replied truthfully. "Maybe I have to go again…"
Pulling her pillow closer, she yawned. "But I don't want you to go again…"
"I don't want to go either," he said huskily and kissed them again. "I love the three of ya more than anythin', don't forget that, 'kay?" Stroking over their hair, he swallowed hard and heard them mumbling something in their sleep. Pulling the blanket more over them, he got up slowly. "Sleep well," switching the lights off, he closed the door behind him carefully and turned towards Rachel's door.
Sitting in the kitchen next to Ororo, Jean stared at her cup for minutes now. She wasn't aware that her friend was looking at her worriedly. She had other thoughts to deal with.
"Jean, what's wrong? Honestly?" Ororo asked her since her friend hadn't told her anything up to now. But she knew that Japan must have gone terribly wrong for the redhead. The whole flight over, she had stared out of the window and said nothing at all, while also Logan had refused to say anything. "Come on, since the two of you are back it's even worse than before…"
"I don't know what to do anymore…," Jean finally replied and stirred her hot chocolate with her thoughts.
"What do you mean?"
"I…," she began and buried her face in her hands all of a sudden before she began to sob. "Tell me how this happened?" she asked begging and shook her head slowly.
Not knowing what to do because of this sudden outburst, Ororo laid an arm around her friend's shoulder. "Jean…," she said sympathetically and knew instantly that she hadn't been wrong with her guess. Something must have happened.
"I thought if we were alone it…it would become better again, but…," Jean began and sniffed from time to time. "…there was no real talking, 'Ro. No embrace, no kiss or even a sign that he would forgive me at all. I really don't know what to do anymore. If I look at him…there's no warmth or loving look… There's only hate and coldness, nothing more."
Shaking her head, Ororo met her gaze. "It can't be that bad, Jean. Logan loves you…"
Leaning back, her sobs mixed with a derisive laugh. "You don't understand…," she said and gave her a look; clearly indicating that she felt despaired and angry at the same time. "If I get close to him at night…if…if I only try to cuddle up to him, he either backs off or leaves. He hates me… He had made this perfectly clear."
"That's not true…," Ororo replied in disbelief. "And what did he do or say to make you think that he hates you?"
Looking at her cup again, Jean shed more tears when she recalled it. "I…I did something and Wolverine showed up."
"Did he hurt you?" her friend immediately asked frightened, but Jean shook her head.
"No…" Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair. "Well, on the next morning, Logan was completely pissed off and said he hoped I was glad that my plan worked, that he hated it to be used. But I never wanted Wolverine to show up…" She gave the woman next to her a despaired look. "So, he…he said some more things and just left. He can't forgive me the thing with Scott," she went on and shook her head crying. "How could I've been so stupid, 'Ro? How could I've let it happen?" she asked her sobbing and Ororo laid an arm around her again. "Why did I believe that thing was him?"
"Jean, now stop it!" the weather goddess intervened. "Everyone thought that it was Wolverine. How could we've known that it wasn't the real one?" she replied and shook her head. "Stop blaming yourself for it!"
"It doesn't change the fact that I slept with Scott, does it?" Jean gave back dryly and heard her friend sighing.
"No… But think about what you've been through. This doppelganger beat you, treated you like dirt, slept around and raped you."
"He didn't rape me…"
Laughing sarcastically, Ororo leant back a bit. "Oh right…," she said ironically. "He forced you to sleep with him so it is rape. Even Logan had seen the marks that this bastard left on you." Seeing that Jean still cried her eyes out, she bit her lip briefly and laid a hand on her shoulder again. "Have the two of you ever talked? I mean really talked about everything?"
"'Ro, Logan didn't even say anything to me after he found out about Scott. The only time he said something was when he got pissed off. He held me while I was crying my eyes out and that's it… And I feel his anger and disappointment in me…" She looked down sighing and turned her engagement and wedding ring in her fingers. "If I could turn back time I would never let him go… This mission has destroyed everything," she said more to herself than to Ororo. "I can't do this anymore…"
"Don't say this!" Ororo replied and shook her head. "The two of you have been through so many terrible things together…"
"Why?" Jean asked her in despair. "There's nothing left of what we've been on our wedding day. Nothing what we've been years ago, 'Ro…" Meeting her friend's gaze, she saw that Ororo was looking back at her in shock.
"You can't give up just like this! The two of you belong together, Jean. You have kids and they love both of you…," she told her while her heart kicked into high gear and fear spread in her chest. "You love him and he loves you, too…"
Without saying anything, Jean got up and walked towards the door, where she stopped. "I can't demand from him that he forgives me. I can't make him talk to me or change what happened…," she said barely audible and wiped away her tears. "You know how important trust and loyalty are to him… And I broke every promise I made on our wedding day." Turning around she looked at Ororo, who stared back at her pleadingly. "I can't stand this anymore. If he would yell at me, fine. I could even forgive if he hit me…but not this continuous rejection…" Lowering her head, Jean left and heard Ororo beginning to cry from afar.
Upstairs, she opened the door to the apartment and heard noises out of the bathroom. Not thinking about it, she walked over to the bedroom and stopped at the bed. Recognizing the paper she had used as a trick on the faked Logan, she saw it laying on her side of the bed and took it into her hands shocked. "It's what you want, ain't it?" she heard a voice at the door and turned around with widened eyes, while her heart was nearly bursting through her chest.
"No!" Jean replied and shook her head. "What makes you think that?"
"I heard ya talkin' to 'Ro," Logan replied and avoided her gaze.
"I never said I wanted a divorce, Logan!"
"Oh really?" he said cynically. "What was it again? I can't take it anymore?"
Coming closer a bit, she stopped when his gaze met hers. "I can't take what we're doing to each other anymore…" He only shook his head and disappeared with a bag in his hand into the bathroom again.
Frowning, she watched him leaving and gave the paper in her hands a look again, when he suddenly came back. Just standing there, she watched how he opened a drawer next and immediately felt fear rising within her. "What are you doing?" she asked him panicky, but he didn't react. "Charles didn't send you onto a mission again, did he?" Logan still didn't reply and went on packing his stuff without looking at her once. Finally, she had enough and grabbed his hands firmly to make him stop. "What is this?"
"What does it look like?" he shot back and narrowed his eyes a bit.
When realization hit her, Jean stepped back a bit and looked at him completely shocked. "You're not leaving, are you?" Heaving a deep breath, he didn't reply and looked away. Realizing that he'd just given her the answer, she shook her head. "Tell me that this isn't true…," she begged him and felt her heart clenching painfully. Logan closed his eyes when he saw her tears. "Please, tell me that this isn't true…," she said again louder and despaired.
"I have to," Logan finally said but she shook her head.
"No! No you don't have to!"
"Jean, you know that I have to!"
"Why? Because of the thing with Scott?" she asked him crying. "I already said I was more than sorry, but that's no reason for you to leave…"
Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. "It's not because of that…" Reaching out, he was about to go on packing, when she grabbed his arm again.
"Then what? I know that you're mad with me…but you can't just leave."
"I'm disappointed, not mad!" Logan corrected her and gave her a short look.
"Then throw me out if it makes you feel better! Hit me, beat me up or do whatever you want," she begged him sobbing and began to quiver.
"Jean…," Logan said through clenched teeth and began to shake when Wolverine roared within him.
Frowning, she saw the change and noticed that he tried to back off from her. "What's wrong?" the redhead asked him scared. "What's wrong with you?"
Breathing heavily, he gave her a look. "I can't stand being near you…," he replied through clenched teeth while he fought hard to keep control.
"Logan…I AM sorry. I would do anything if I could…," Jean began but was cut off by him.
"No…what I mean is…," he tried to explain but closed his eyes briefly and heaved even deeper breaths.
Suddenly, Jean realized what was going on. "It's him, isn't it?" she asked calmly and watched him fighting. "Is that the reason why you're avoiding me?" He nodded slowly while his eyes were still closed tightly. "But why didn't you just say anything?" Looking at him despaired she watched how he went on packing his stuff and felt her fear becoming stronger within her. "We can help you! We can fix the damage again…," she said and began to cry again, when he shook his head.
"You know that you can't…," Logan replied calmly and looked at her; feeling the pain as much as she did. "I tried everything to keep you away from me, Red. I really don't know what else to do…" Seeing that she pulled a face and began to cry heavily, he didn't know what to say. Sighing, he finally pulled her close and let her cry on his shoulder while he dropped the bag to the ground. Feeling how she clung to him as if she was drowning, he pulled her even closer. "You know as good as I do that I'm losing it, Jean…," Logan tried to explain when he heard another sob. "He gains more and more control. I can feel it… And locking me up into that cell while he's in charge won't do soon anymore. You will soon have to lock me in for hours, then days, then weeks. And he will find a way out of it and takes revenge on you… And I just can't let it happen."
"But we could help you to learn control again," Jean sobbed into his shoulder and clung tighter to him.
"No, you can't. I have to do this alone. Having other people around me only makes it worse and more difficult. That's why I wanted to go to Japan alone…"
Looking up with wet and red eyes from crying, she gave him a pleading look. "Then let me at least come with you…"
"No!" Logan gave back and shook his head.
"But Wolverine knows me. He'll recognize his mate…"
"That's the point why you can't come with me, Red. That's the reason why I rejected you and even hurt you the best I could in hope you would stay away from me."
Frowning, the redhead shook her head. "What do you mean?"
He sighed in frustration and let go of her to walk towards the window. Looking out into the night, he tried to find the right words which could explain his situation to her. "He'll recognize you as his mate. As his woman. He thinks of you as his property…as someone who has to be servile to him. I don't know everything that happened between you and him, but I can tell you that he still hates you. He still wants to punish you for betraying him…"
Listening to his harsh words, she'd wrapped her arms around herself. "You're not like that, Logan."
"I'm not like that. But if he takes over completely, I'm no longer left, Jean. And I can neither stop him nor remember afterwards what he did… You've seen it in Japan," Logan replied and came a bit closer again. "And he will hurt you. If you refuse to do what he wants, he will make you do it. And he won't care if he hurts you badly. He wants to break you…" Letting out a deep breath, Jean lowered her gaze in shock. "That's why I'm leaving," he added calmly and touched her cheek briefly. "I don't want to hurt you or the kids…or someone else…"
Leaning into his touch, while she still cried silently, she met his eyes. "But where do you want to go? And for how long?"
As an answer he shrugged. "Somewhere where I'm completely alone and won't run into someone else. I can't take the risk to lose it and hurt someone…"
Jean had noticed that he hadn't answered her last question. "For how long, Logan?" she asked again and he sighed.
"I will only come back after I gained control again. Full control like before," he replied and looked away. "I have to figure out first what Apocalypse destroyed…"
"That still didn't answer my question…"
"I don't know, Jean," he finally said and looked at her. "It can take one month or two, but also six, eight or more. I'll try my best to get over it quickly."
Looking at him for some time, she nodded. "Promised?"
"Yeah, promised."
Taking a step, she embraced him tightly and cried silently into his chest; feeling relieved that she finally knew the truth. "What am I supposed to tell our children?" she asked him after a while.
"That I'm on a mission which takes a bit longer this time," Logan replied calmly and looked away. "And that I won't call."
Being shocked when she heard it, Jean looked up. "You can't do this… How am I supposed to know that you're fine?"
"It only makes it harder. I won't call, Jean, I can't. It will only push him stronger because he wants to go back," he explained and shook his head.
"And what… What if you can't gain control again? If Apocalypse destroyed something irreversible?" she asked him louder and already saw the answer in his eyes. "What do you want me to tell them, then?"
"It won't happen…," Logan said to evade an answer, since he knew that she had already seen it in his eyes. Running a hand through his hair, he hadn't believed that it would become that hard.
"What if, Logan?" Jean asked again. "I know that you already calculated it in."
Swallowing, he fixed his eyes to the ground. "Then you tell them…," he began but broke off; knowing her reaction before she had gotten his answer.
"What?" she asked scared, but already knew what he was about to say. And it frightened her the most.
"…that I died on that mission…"
Shaking her head slowly, she began to sob again. "I can't do this! Not again!" Hearing him sighing, Jean bent forward and rested her forehead against his chest while he pulled her close. She couldn't do something like that to her children. Not after they had gone through this before…
"You can. You have to," was all Logan said while he stroked over her back soothingly.
"But how am I supposed to know that you're not coming back? Knowing that you won't even call?" she asked him despaired and looked up again.
Pausing for a while, completely aware of the look she gave him, Logan shook his head sighing. "One year, maybe two…"
"No…," Jean cried and clung to him. "Logan, I can't do this… I can't sit here that long without knowing where and how you are… Don't you see that?"
"Do you think it will be easy for me?" he asked her aloud and grabbed her by her shoulders to meet her eyes. "I leave for your sake, Jean! For yours and the cubs. Not voluntarily like in the past when I needed some space! If I stay I can't guarantee that he won't hurt you…"
Hearing it, she knew he was right and looked down. "I know…" Just standing there for a moment, Jean finally ran a hand through her face; feeling how her heart broke in her chest. "When do you want to leave?" she asked him barely audible when her gaze fell on the bag on the ground.
"Actually now… The sooner the better," Logan said as calmly as she had spoken to him before and immediately saw how her head shot up.
"No!"
"Jean…," he sighed in frustration since the whole situation was exactly what he'd wanted to avoid. He had hoped that she would stay a bit longer downstairs so that he could leave a note and disappear without hurting her more than necessary. And now he was in a situation which made it not only hard for him to say anything at all. He couldn't stand looking into her eyes.
"No!" Jean said again with despair and fear in her voice. "Stay at least this night…"
Meeting her pleading eyes he felt how he lost the control over the situation. "It will only make it harder…," he said softly and cupped her face to wipe away her tears, but she clung to him again and cried heavily once more.
"I don't know if I'll ever see you again…so give us at least a proper good-bye," Jean sobbed heavily and her voice broke while talking.
Meeting her eyes, he suffered like hell and felt his heart shattering to pieces. "Jeannie, please…," he begged her, but she cut him off and pulled him down into a despaired and hungry kiss…
Around 3 a.m. Logan was still awake while Jean had finally fallen asleep and laid on her belly with her head turned towards him. Resting his head in his left hand, he traced her features gently and memorized everything of her. Bending forward a bit, he gave her a tender kiss on her lips, before he got up carefully to get dressed again. After Logan had put his leather jacket on, he pulled both rings from his left ring finger and laid them on a letter, which he had written before she'd caught him packing, on his pillow. Afterwards, he grabbed his bag from the floor and gave her a last look, before he walked over to the twins' room. Seeing that Rachel had walked over to Lily's bed and was now sleeping at the end of the bed, while Jack and Lily still laid next to each other deeply asleep, he smiled slightly and tucked his children in again. Kissing each of them tenderly, he heaved a deep breath and looked at them for a while; not caring that he was crying. Logan closed his eyes and finally left the room quickly to walk down the stairs and then the corridor towards the garage, where he took his motorbike out of it. Wiping away his tears, he pulled the bike up the driveway with his kitbag on his shoulders and stopped at the gate once more to give the mansion one last look; not knowing if he will ever return this time. With a tensed look, he put his helmet on and finally turned the key of his bike to drive off without looking back.
A door opened and lit up the dark temple a bit. A single person entered whose face wasn't visible since the light was far too dim to see anything at all. "I knew you'd come," a man opposite a Buddha figure said and kept on kneeling on the ground without looking at the intruder. He was praying and he intended to continue with it.
After he was finished ten minutes later, he finally turned around and watched his visitor getting on his knees and lowering the upper body to the ground. This one wanted something from him and was begging for it. "So, you're asking me to help fighting the demon again?" he asked the person on the ground.
"Yes," came the reply.
Bending down a bit, he eyed the intruder closely. "Are you ready for it? You know what lies ahead of you, if you really chose that path…," he demanded to know and watched how the person raised his head, which was finally illuminated by the weak candles.
"Yes!" Logan replied with a determined look on his face…
30 pages on one day. I can really say, I didn't expect (again) to finish it at all today, but I wanted to put it online before the next week starts. Thanks to all reviewers again: ) I hope you liked that one here, too. I had a hard time to write the beginning with Wolverine, but well, I think it turned out okay. Hope you guys think so, too. The scene between Ororo and Jean in the kitchen and the long scene between Jean and Logan at the end was pre-written long again when I still wrote in Changes. So, as you can see again, up to now it was planned to turn out that way. I promised two or three of you that there will be a rather soft moment between Logan and Jean again, but the second wish some of you have stated in their reviews will turn out a bit different than you might expect. You will see it in the next chapter. ; ) So, please review and see ya!!